The lady talks down to me, “When trying to stop a war and save billions of lives, showing up with four battleships looks like an invasion. So typical of a man to not comprehend the basics. Get out of my way; where is your captain? Why didn’t she greet us? I will have you cleaning toilets until you turn gray.”
Behind the passengers, I see some women slowly lingering our way. They have dark clothes and a dark visor, hiding their face. All of them have their hands inside their cloaks. Fuck me!
With a smile on my face, so I don’t give myself away, I softly tell Zai, “Create a forcefield to protect those bitches. I count six attackers.”
Zai places intense spotlights on each potential attacker. Immediately, rifles are revealed, and they start shooting. Their accuracy is terrible. I guess if I had a bright light in my face, my aim would be much worse as well. I see a bunch of people coming, and they have heavier weapons. I grab all the women and pull them into my ship. I pull hard, and without warning, they all end up on the ground in a mess.
They’re pissed at me for even touching them. They got dirty and scuffed their knees and arms.
Meanwhile, I start issuing commands, “Zai, get us the fuck out of here as fast as you can. Head to Polaris-2. Avoid all other ships.”
All four take off their helmets.
The mother is standing up now, and she is pissed, “We are not going to Polaris-2. How stupid are you? I told you we need to rush to Vole-4. The fate of the galaxy depends on this. Turn this damn ship around, and get us to that planet ASAP.”
I ask her, “Have you not been paying attention? Six women just tried to kill you. Twenty more were behind them. They know where you’re going. They saw me leave on a vector. Guess what, every ship they have will follow us on the same vector, and I’m a slow ship. Do you see a problem?”
One of the daughters says with tears in her eyes, “They’re going to catch us and then slowly kill us.”
Her mother shushes her. She looks just as scared.
I continue, “We have a big head start. I will adjust our course once we are out of their sensor range. I only have two rooms; you four get the smaller one.”
The mother laughs, “Looks like you don’t know your own ship. I see a room here for all of us.”
The daughters’ chuckle. Behind them, I see Zai re-adjusted the rooms.
I ask them, “I think you need your eyes checked; I only see two door handles.”
They turn around, and they’re all amazed to see just two rooms. Four sets of jaws hit the floor.
I quip, “You were saying about my knowledge of my ship? I didn’t want this job. I didn’t ever want this much risk. You four have carelessly risked my life against my wishes just because you think you’re better than me. I will get you there since you said it’s that fucking important. My fee is ten times what you offered, and I bet that still isn’t enough.
“Now get in your rooms and stay there. I don’t want to see you. Food will make its way to your room. For a freighter, I doubt you find better rooms. You give me any trouble, and you can walk there. Do you understand me?”
All four are silent.
I smile, “Go to your rooms; there is one for each of you.”
They turn around, and there are five rooms now, mine plus one for each of them. I love this ship. Each of them has an astonished look on their face. Silently, they each pick a room and hide from me. PERFECT! I just noticed that they don’t have a change of clothes. I sure hope Zai got their luggage as they entered the ship. Maybe someone got it when I didn’t see it.
That’s their problem. I guess it’s a human thing; I walk up to my bridge. There is no need to be on the bridge as Zai is everywhere. We have a place for everything. Once on the bridge, I make a list of things to do. Zai will do it and remind me, but it’s how I remember things, by writing them down.
I startle Zai, “We know our guests are as hot as a fusion reactor. We have a head start, and we have a path that we must stray from. Suggestions?”
Zai sounds happy, “First, thank you for the orders. I don’t understand deceit, double-dealing, or lies. When I try … I fail. Thank you for guessing that part. I would have gone straight to our destination. I see how this is better; we will spread them out.”
I am happy, “OK, if I were them, here is a list of things I would do to catch us. I want you planning for that list to happen and plan for contingencies.”
Zai asks questioningly about a command, “Radio silence?”
I smile, “How did you get me to help? You sent out a cry for help. What if four battleships did the same thing?”
Zai sounds like she might cry, “We would be dead without you. I feel so helpless right now. How is it that women run the world?”
I laugh, “Every 200th birth is a male. They control our numbers. Your abilities are far more critical than my insight; you’re giving me too much credit. I will grant you that together, we are a formidable team and complement each other well.
“I am tired. I want you to make two more course directions changes in four-hour increments while I sleep. Our passengers are not hostages but watch over them. See what you can learn about them and if their mission is real. I am going to sleep, night Zai.”
Zai sexily says to me, “Good night, Tim.”
Chapter 3 — Princess Trudy
Princess Trudy’s point of view:
I am tired of being cooped up in this room. I want to explore the ship. I want to know more about that man. I have never seen a living man; our planet forbids them. Oh yes, we have a bunch. They’re kept far from me. I can’t imagine how we got put on a ship captained by a man. Someone screwed up big time, and mom will make sure they pay dearly for it … if we survive.